Reilly's Wildcard (Blackwater)

“Yep.” He leaned slowly down, giving her ample time to pull away and call a halt. When she didn’t, Reilly touched a stray eyelash on her cheek and lifted it to his mouth. “Make a wish,” he softly ordered.

A secret little smile curved her lips upward an instant before she closed her eyes and blew. Reilly lifted back up, his gaze riveted to her. Her lips were parted, unconsciously inviting him to taste her. Christ, he wanted to. More than he’d wanted anything in his life. Too fast. Dude, let the woman breathe.

“What’d you wish for?” he asked in an effort to cool his raging hormones.

She blinked and stared up at him. “Huh?”

“Your wish,” he reminded her.

She touched a finger to her lips. “Oh. I-I can’t tell, or it won’t come true.”

“Of course,” he replied, charmed by her. “I forgot that part.” He stepped back and shook his head. What was he doing? Reilly felt like an idiot. A young, infatuated teenager, when in fact he was twenty-five years old. He’d dated plenty of beautiful women, and he’d never once been so completely fixated. He reached out and took her hand in his, teasing her knuckles with his thumb. “Ready to face the crowd?”

She nodded and moved away from the wall. “Thanks for being my white knight.”

“My pleasure,” he said, aching to keep her all to himself for another few minutes. There was more to Lucy than met the eye, and he desperately wanted to know everything about her. If there was a God, he’d get his wish too.

Lucy let Reilly seat her at the table they’d vacated earlier. He waved a waitress over and ordered another drink for them, then leaned a little closer to be heard over the noise and said, “So, tell me more about yourself, Lucy.”

“I’m not that exciting,” she said in an attempt to bring the temperature in the room down a few degrees.

“I have a feeling you’re being modest.” Reilly smiled slightly, then gestured toward Sarah, who was currently dancing with a yummy blond. “So, are you here for moral support for Sarah, or is there another reason you came here tonight?”

Lucy’s heart fluttered at the sensual tone in his voice; then the first half of his statement sank in. It was the perfect opening to mention the singing gig, but Lucy chickened out. What else was new? “Everyone is talking about the restaurant and the five mysterious brothers who own it. I was curious, what can I say?”

He chuckled. “You make us sound like celebrities or something.”

Lucy looked over at the bar and spotted a man who bore a striking resemblance to Reilly. He appeared older, and his hair was shorter. There was something rougher about him too. “Is that one of your brothers?” she asked, pointing to the man who was currently cuddled up next to a laughing brunette.

Reilly smiled. “That’s Sam. He’s the oldest. The woman he’s holding is Julie, his better half.”

“They look happy together.” She wondered what that would be like. Her ex had turned out to be a total mooching loser. Lucy knew very little about happily-ever-after relationships.

“I figure he’ll propose before long.” Reilly looked back over to where Sarah was dancing and frowned. “Your friend is tempting the beast. You can bet Brodix isn’t going to like seeing her dancing with blondie there.”

Lucy frowned. To get Brodix’s attention tonight, Lucy had talked Sarah into coming to the Blackwater Bar and Grill dressed to seduce. The plan was for Brodix to walk in, see Sarah looking sexy and hot, and go all caveman. So far, Brodix was a no-show, and the plan was quickly going to pot. “Well, Sarah is a big girl, you know? She hardly needs to ask permission if she wants to dance with a cute guy.”

Reilly’s gaze landed on her, his brows scrunched in anger. “Cute?”

Judging by the sneer in his tone, Lucy assumed he didn’t find that notion pleasant. She didn’t have the nerve to tell Reilly that the blond couldn’t hold a candle to him. Ever since high school, she’d been hyperaware of him. When she’d seen Reilly outside the restaurant working on the sign one day a few months back, Lucy realized the feeling ha

dn’t gone away with the years. And as pathetic as it sounded, she kept finding one reason or another to drive by the Blackwater just to get another peek at him.

“Sure,” she answered, unable to resist the urge to tease him a little. “He’s tall, blond and has a sexy Southern accent. A woman would have to be blind and deaf not to appreciate all that.”

Reilly leaned toward her, and she forced herself to stay still, although her heartbeat was at full gallop. “I take it you aren’t seeing anyone?”

“No.” She swallowed back the lump forming in her throat. “You?”

“Nope.”

She relaxed a little at the knowledge that no other woman had a claim on him. “Oh, that’s good.” Lucy took a sip of her drink. Liquid courage wasn’t her usual MO. Then again, most men didn’t send butterflies to flight inside her with a mere glance the way Reilly did. She’d already drained the first cosmopolitan she’d ordered earlier and was halfway into a second.

“We work together,” Lucy said, thinking of his earlier question. “Sarah and I work at the newspaper together.”

Reilly’s gaze widened. “You’re a reporter?”

“No, a copy editor. It’s a busy, often stressful job that puts food on the table and keeps a roof over my head.”